Cosmos 359

NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1970-065A

Description

This mission was an attempted Venus flight, perhaps a lander similar to the Venera 7 mission launched 5 days earlier on 17 August. The SL-6/A-2-e launcher successfully brought the spacecraft to Earth orbit and the spacecraft payload was separated from the Tyazheliy Sputnik, but the escape stage failed during firing, putting the payload into a slightly more elliptical geocentric orbit. The mission was designated Cosmos 359.

Beginning in 1962, the name Cosmos was given to Soviet spacecraft which remained in Earth orbit, regardless of whether that was their intended final destination. The designation of this mission as an intended planetary probe is based on evidence from Soviet and non-Soviet sources and historical documents. Typically Soviet planetary missions were initially put into an Earth parking orbit as a launch platform with a rocket engine and attached probe. The probes were then launched toward their targets with an engine burn with a duration of roughly 4 minutes. If the engine misfired or the burn was not completed, the probes would be left in Earth orbit and given a Cosmos designation.